Writing-case.



No. 636,!!9. Patented Oct. 3|, I899.

R. M. DENZIG.

WRITING CASE.

A plicatinn filed Dec. 29, 1

UNITED STAT S PATENT Orricn.

RICHARD M. DENZIG, OF ELKHART, INDIANA.

WRITING-OAS E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 636,119, dated October31, 1899.

Application filed. December 29, 1898. serial No. 700,646. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, RICHARD M. DENZIG, of Elkhart, in the county ofElkhart and State of Indiana, have invented a new and ImprovedWriting-Case, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

One object of my invention is to so construct a writing-case or caseadapted to receive bills, letters, or documents that the cover willautomatically lock itself thereto when closed upon the body and may beexpeditiously and conveniently raised when desired, the entire case whenclosed resembling a book.

Another object of the invention is to construct a writing-case or filewhich will be comparatively inexpensive and to provide a simple form ofkeyless lock for securing the cover to the body of the case or file.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of theseveral parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed outin the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in both figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a writingcase constructed inaccordancewith my invention, the cover being raised; and Fig. 2 is a longitudinalsection through the improved case, the cover being lowered to close thecase.

In its entirety the case A is constructed to represent a book, and thebody of the said case consists of a bottom 10, corresponding to one ofthe covers of a book, a back 11, secured to the bottom 10, which back isconvexed at its outer face to represent the back of a book, sides 12,secured to the back 11 and to the bottom 10, the said sides terminatingshort of the front end of the bottom 10, while the forward ends 14 ofthe sides 12 are concaved, and a cover 13, which completes the case andcorresponds to a cover of a book. The cover 13 for the case is hinged inany suitable or approved manner to the back 11.

At the upper front central portion of the bottom 10 a spring 15 islocated, the said spring being preferably a bow-spring, and the saidspring is loosely mounted in suitable bearings'produced in the saidbottom of the case, so that when the spring is pressed at its center itsends are free to slide in opposite directions.

The front of the case consists of a springplate 16, the outer facewhereof is concaved and the inner face convexed. The said springplate issecured to the under surface of the front end of the cover 13 of thecasing, and when the cover is closed upon the body the said spring isadapted to accommodate itself to the concavities 14: at the forward endsof the sides of the case. When, however, the cover isclosed, thespring-plate is forced outward when it engages with the upper edges ofthesides 12, and as the cover is brought to a bearing against the upperedges of the sides the lower edge of the spring-plate 16 engages withthe spring 15, which is adapted as a keeper for the spring-plate, andforces the said spring-keeper downward, flattening it;

but as soon as the cover 13 is brought firmly in contact with the upperedges of the sides of the case the said spring-plate automaticallyengages with and conforms to the forward concaved edges 14: of the sidesof the case and releases itself from the spring-keeper 15, which latterimmediately rises to its n0rmal position and'prevents the spring-plate16 from leaving the position to which it has been carried.

In order to open the case, it is therefore necessary that thespring-keeper 15 shall be flattened by one hand while the cover 13 isdrawn upward by the other hand. It will be understood that some force isnecessary to open the cover, even after the keeper 15 is carried out ofthe path of the spring-plate 16; but only sufficient force is neededtoovercome the resistance of the bearing of the spring-plate against theforward ends of the side portions of the case.

When the case is to be employed as a receptacle for writing material, atransverse compartment 17 is formed at the back, and the saidcompartment is subdivided to form, for example, an end receptacle 18,adapted to receive stamps, and provided with a suitable cover 19, acentral receptacle 20, adapted to receive an ink-Well 21, and a secondend receptacle 22, also provided with a cover 23, and

this latter receptacle may be utilized to receive pens. In front of thecompartment 17 a transverse compartment 24 is formed, adapted to receivepenholders; but when this compartment 2a is constructed a space isprovided between the bottom of said compartment and the bottom of thecasein order that writing-paper, envelops, 850., may be carried as farwithin the case as may be necessary. The cover 13 upon its inner face isprovided with a transverse pad 25, and when the cover is closed upon thebody of the case this pad is adapted to enter the transverse compartment24 and prevent the material placed in such compartment from moving,since the compartment 24 is not provided with a cover.

The device is exceedingly simple, and can be economically constructed.Furthermore, the device may be used for various purposes as, forexample, it may be fitted with compartments, as described, to adapt itas a writing-case, or the compartments may be varied or omitted and thecase utilized for filing away receipts, letters, or documents.

Since the device when closed exteriorly represents a book, it may beplaced conveniently in a bookcase or upon a table, and when the deviceis placed upon a table the front springplate forms a handsome finish forthe front edge, and said spring-plate and keeper will serve toeffectually lock the cover to the body of the case, but will notaffordany clue as to the manner in which the case is to be opened.

The cover is thus locked to the body without the use of a key.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. A case consisting of a body comprising a bottom,back and sides, the front ends of the sides being concaved, a hingedcover for the body, a transversely-curved spring-plate attached to theforward portion of the cover and of a length approximately equal to thewidth of the case, and a spring-keeper located upon the body, adaptedfor locking engagement with the said spring-plate, as described.

2. A case consisting of a body provided with a bottom and back, sidesattached to the bottom and back, the forward ends of the sides beingconcaved, and a cover hinged to the back, a transversely-curvedspring-plate secured to the inner face of the cover, the said platebeing of a length approximately equal to the width of the case andadapted to conform to the curvature of the forward ends of the sides,and a bow-spring mounted to slide in bearings at the forward portion ofthe bottom of the said case, and adapted for locking engagement with thesprin g-plate of the cover when the latter is closed, substantially asdescribed.

RICHARD M. DENZIG.

Witnesses:

R. M. JOHNSON, IRA H. CHURCH.

